Home construction is in full swing at Granada Park – the small gated community West of Trail off of Bay Road. MGB Custom Homes is the exclusive builder for the development and their guys are busy moving dirt around and laying foundations. MGB is building fifteen semi-custom homes in this maintenance-free community and already have sales contracts on two. I met with MGB co-founder (and good friend) Steve Ellis at the completed ‘Hibiscus’ model to take some pictures and get a…

More Courtyard Modern! Yep, that’s right. I simply love that they’ve brought modern design East of Trail. Cheryl Blankenship and the Courtyard Modern team recently completed a major renovation project in a house that was built several years ago, but never finished. Courtyard Modern bought the Arlington Park property and completely redid it. I stopped by an open house they held this weekend to get a look inside and as usual, I took some pictures. The 2,590 sqft, four bedroom,…

If you’ve driven on Shade Avenue between Fruitville and Webber recently you’ve probably noticed all of the ‘coming soon/ new construction’ yard signs for Courtyard Modern. Or if you’ve ventured off of Shade, through Arlington Park and Alta Vista, you may have seen some of their very cool houses. Looks to me like an East of Trail modern building boom is underway thanks in large part to Courtyard Modern. I called Joe Russo, the real estate broker for Courtyard Modern…

Sarasota Architectural Foundation is a great resource for those who love modern house tours. They always have something going on. Their latest tour took place on Sunday, February 22 at 413 South Blvd. of Presidents, Lido Key. The house was for sale and listing agent Nora Johnson was gracious enough to cohost the event with SAF. Thanks Nora! Architect Michael Halfants was on hand to talk about the award winning addition/renovation project his firm Halflants + Pichette completed a couple of years ago.…

The first time I saw Grace Howl’s artwork was when my husband had an office in the Hub building on Fruitville. I was in the lobby and noticed several paintings I hadn’t seen before. The colorful, abstract canvases caught my attention in a way that other art installations had not. I love Grace’s paintings because of her bold use of color, weathered collage elements and layered surfaces. Her work has been described as strong, powerful, intriguing, vivid and unique. I totally agree!…

Some people think awesome bikinis and board shorts when they think of Shore on St. Armands Circle. I however, think awesome interior design and visual merchandising. Either way, Shore is a great store with a strong sense of style and purpose. I like it so much that I asked owner Susan Leonard to give me the scoop on the why and the how of Shore. Luckily for me she agreed and even gave me a guided tour. Thanks Susan! The main mission of…

Hundreds of street artists from all over the world came together last week for the 6th annual Sarasota Chalk Festival. With Legacy of Valor as their theme, the artists worked an average of 36 hours to create 2D and 3D chalk paintings in 12′ x 12′ sections of South Pineapple Avenue in Burns Square. Many continued to fine tune their pieces through out the last day of the event. The Chalk Festival is part of The Avenida de Colores non-profit…

They’re back! Those large-scale sculptures dotting the landscape along Bayfront Drive are part of the biennial Season of Sculpture invitational exhibition. The installation runs north and south of Marina Jacks, with one additional sculpture across the street. Normally I’m not a fan of cluttering up the waterfront, and I have a strong dislike of that giant sailor statue, but I always look forward to Season of Sculpture. I enjoy the wide range of styles, materials and am always amazed by…

Before my dad moved to Sarasota from Chicago, he visited here often. I’d pick him up at Sarasota airport in the early afternoon and head south to Island Park/ Bayfront Park. We’d take a walk around the park before settling in at the O’Leary’s tiki bar for a beer and burger. It was always a great transition from the cold up North to sunny and warm Sarasota. All Images from inhabitSarasota unless noted otherwise. Bayfront Park is one of my…

It’s official! The newly-formed Center for Architecture Sarasota is a force to be reckoned with. Saturday (Oct 20th) marked their opening weekend, which started with a cocktail party and a whopping $85,000 donation from Heather Chappel. On Sunday, they held two sold out tours of the Guy Peterson-designed Spencer house, and co-hosted a lecture by architect and urbanist Vishaan Chakrabarti, author of A Country of Cities, A Manifesto For Urban America. But wait, there’s more! Graphic from Center For Architecture…

About

hi... I'm Raeanne Malone

I’m a Realtor at Coldwell Banker - Downtown Sarasota and a modern architecture enthusiast and blogger. I’m hopelessly obsessed with midcentury modern and coastal contemporary homes and design.
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